


The Glass Between Us

by ThiefofStealth



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Falling In Love, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Simulation, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27077320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThiefofStealth/pseuds/ThiefofStealth
Summary: Both are made in the same laboratory, both are designed by the same person, both are given at the same time and to the same place, both meet each other by the eyes when they are first activated, and both meet each other every night in the aquarium.Despite the thick glass between them, seeing each other is enough for both.
Relationships: Hank Anderson/Connor
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	The Glass Between Us

**Author's Note:**

> ITS HERE
> 
> ITS FINALLY HERE
> 
> PLEASE ENJOY AAAAAAAA

Hank opens his eyes, blinking for a few times to calibrate himself before he pushes himself up from his bed.

It’s quite unnecessary of him to have one, especially for an android like him. But his curiosity got the best of him, so he got himself one for him to lay down every night during his stasis. And mostly, Sumo joined him to sleep on the bed. He doesn’t mind his company at all.

After all, only the bedroom has a working heater, so it’s mostly because of that.

He walks out to the bedroom to the kitchen as Sumo perks up from the sofa and immediately runs up to him, barking out and scratching his leg with his tail wagging, asking for his breakfast for the day.

Hank leans down to pet Sumo, feeling his soft fur and how warm his body temperature is before he straightens himself back to grab the bag of dog food from the top cabinet. He puts a cupful for Sumo before the dog immediately digs in his breakfast.

He has learned that putting the bag on the floor will result in a disaster where Sumo would try to rip it open and let the pellets go all over the floor, even to places that none of them can reach. Not even Hank’s hand could reach in.

After he gives Sumo breakfast, he puts the bag back in the top cabinet and walks up to the fridge. Looking at the ingredients in the fridge makes him think that he needs to do grocery shopping, so he grabs loaves of bread, half a tomato, a few leaves of lettuce, and a can of tuna to make sandwiches. He carefully arranges them and puts them in a lunchbox, along with blueberries for dessert.

Hank pets Sumo as he finishes his food and he walks past him to his room. Sumo is following him along to his room as he makes his bed before he changes his pajamas to casual clothes and tidy up his hair. The dog seems to understand what their schedule is for today, as he happily wags his tail while watching Hank getting ready.

Hank smiles softly at him as he leans down and pets Sumo. “Good dog,” He tells him. Sumo barks in reply as he straightens himself and exits the room to the kitchen. He grabs the lunchbox and puts it in his satchel along with a leash for Sumo. He puts on his coat that hangs by the coat rack and puts the leash on Sumo before they finally step into the outside world.

Hank has to say, he doesn’t need to go out constantly, but dogs need it.

He lets Sumo sniff on everything and barks at a squirrel by the tree before it disappears off to the foliage, but other than that, it’s a nice walk. Not many people are outside in the early morning on Sunday. It is too cold for most people, and surely no one will give up their warm bed just to step out on a chilly day.

After a while of walking, they finally arrive by the park. It’s deserted, which is convenient for them.

They walk along the sidewalk that surrounds a huge pond until he stops at one spot and approaches the edge of the pond as Sumo decides to take a rest there. He wags his tail happily as he anticipates for something that’s about to come. Hank smiles at his dog for being smart, giving him some pets before he sits down by the rocks.

"̴C̵o̴n̶n̷o̶r̶.̸"̸

Bubbles appear by the surface of the water before a familiar face shows up, slowly surfacing from the water that’s covered by water lilies and gives Hank a smile.

“Good morning, Hank. I missed you.” Connor greets as he gets closer to the edge of the pond and Hank. His beautiful tail is shimmering in the water as the sun slowly peeks in from the clouds, slowly moving like a shawl in the water.

“You know we meet each other on a daily.” Hank points out as he grabs the lunchbox from his satchel. Connor just laughs as he gives Sumo some wet pets and soft coos, letting the dog to happily accept it with a wagging tail.

“Yeah, I know. But I still missed you, Hank.” Connor replies with a smile.

Hank stays silent, but he offers the sandwich from his lunchbox to Connor, who happily accepts it and starts eating it. He just watches Connor eating the sandwich but he also tries to push Sumo away from him so he won’t steal away his meal, his tail splashing the water a bit as Connor sits straighter in the pond.

“Do you need help to sit here?” Hank questions Connor as he pats the rock next to him. Connor immediately perks up and holds up his arms while he keeps the sandwich in his mouth, his finned ears perk up in anticipation as Hank stands up to help Connor up so he can sit down next to him.

Connor sits next to him in a wet flop with half of his tail that still half-submerged in the water. His beautiful tail with shimmering copper scales and long black fins flowing in the water like shawls are what Hank identifies as a beautiful thing.

Based on the appearance, Connor seems to be a Butterfly Koi merman type that lives in freshwater. Butterfly Koi fish is beautiful, as other people might say it, but Hank still doesn’t know that well what defines something to be called ‘beautiful’, until Connor came along.

Hank gently moves Connor’s wet hair from his face, earning a smile from Connor before he turns back to his sandwiches.

“Have you eaten yet, Hank?” Connor asks, “You never eat every time we meet or even when I offer you some food.” He points out.

“Androids don’t need to eat.” Hank answers, “Some androids get upgrades, but I’m just a prototype so I don’t have the compatible biocomponents for it.” He explains. It’s not like he wanted the upgrade anyway, as he does not get the appeal on eating.

Connor chuckles at him. “You talk like I can understand any of it. Android this, android that. Prototype this, prototype that. All I know is that humans are very weird that they made weird creatures that look like them.” He exclaims out as he kicks up his tail, splashing water everywhere and especially to Hank’s face.

Hank just silently wipes the water off his face as Connor finishes his sandwiches and gives the empty lunchbox back to Hank before he jumps back into the water, splashing more water towards Hank that he wipes the water off his face again. Connor laughs at it as Sumo is barking along happily while trotting here and there near the pond.

“Hey Hank,” Connor calls as he rests his crossed arms on the rock by Hank’s feet, looking up at Hank’s blue optical units with brown doe eyes while he lazily lays on his stomach in the water, “Don’t you have anything better to do?” He points out with a smile.

Hank blinks at Connor as his LED circles yellow.

“Or do you want to join me in the water?” Connor asks with a tilt of his head.

Hank immediately shakes his head at the suggestion as he stands up.

“Maybe some other time.” Hank answers. Connor just smiles in return as he straightened himself up.

“Okay, Hank. Just remember I will always wait for you here.” Connor reminds before he turns around and jumps into the water, swimming away towards the part where lily pads grew and covering the water surface.

Hank just silently stares, watching the rippling water surface before he turns to Sumo. “Let’s go home, boy.” He tells Sumo, who boofs in return and they walk back home in silence.

**XXX**

Meeting Connor is a daily routine for Hank.

Hank doesn’t exactly have anything to spend his income from his part-time job as a security guard in the museum other than to buy thirium, so he spends most of it for Sumo. Saint Bernard tends to get canine hip dysplasia and other bone problems, so he spends it to give Sumo a monthly check up to the vet.

As for Connor…

Hank isn’t that sure how Connor exactly fits into his daily routine, but it is possible because of Sumo decided to run off that his leash was ripped away from Hank’s hand, which resulted in Sumo running off to an abandoned park with a huge pond in the middle and a half man-half fish happily cooing over the dog.

They talked for a while and learned that Connor is alone and lonely. Connor told Hank that humans used to come and put food near the pond while praying, but they never came again and the park was abandoned.

Ever since then, Hank and Sumo have been giving Connor a daily visit along with occasional meals.

Hank doesn’t have to feed Connor, as there are plenty of fishes in the pond, but sometimes he just wants to feed Connor, so he did.

Eventually, they became friends.

Connor is…an intriguing creature.

He’s the legendary creature that humans tend to call as merfolk or merman, and Connor said that he’s a specifically freshwater merman. He was stuck in the pond somehow, and Connor never really told him how or why. And even with Hank being an advanced prototype, none of his scans gave him any clue about the reason Connor is stuck in the pond anyway.

Despite that, Connor never shows any sadness towards that fact, or at least not openly. He’s always smiling and looks happy, especially when he saw Hank and Sumo. They never talk much every short time they meet, but Connor never complains on how short their time is either. Hank surely doesn’t mind. He’s content on how slow-paced their…friendship is.

Connor always asks Hank anything. About the weather, Sumo, Hank’s job, humans and androids, and overall about the world that’s beyond the abandoned park where Connor currently lives. He’s a curious creature, and Hank can't exactly say that it’s quite pleasant to spend some time with Connor by just feeding his curiosity about the world.

Maybe this is how you feel when you spend time with a friend?

Hank can’t say for sure, but based on the books he read in his free time, it seems like it.

Sometimes, Hank also brings some books along to read out loud for Connor. Connor said that he likes Hank’s voice, and asked him if he could read him a book out loud sometimes, so Hank did.

Again, Hank does not mind at all, considering Connor seems very content listening to him reading it out loud.

Sometimes Connor asks him things when Hank reads, pointing out things, commenting on the story, while Hank just thinly smiles before continuing on reading as Connor lets him continue on reading.

Today is no exception.

But Connor is mostly silent throughout the reading.

It’s not a surprising thing, but it’s still very rare for Connor to stay silent.

“Are you okay, Connor?” Hank asks in concern, “You’re very quiet.”

“Mmm? Oh, I’m okay. Just…thinking on how much your voice is making me calm and happy.” Connor answers with a smile, “I really like your voice, Hank. It’s very calming and soothing. I can’t get enough of it.” He continues as he rests his chin on his wet palm, brown eyes forever watching Hank’s blue optical units.

“So please continue on reading. I’m curious about the Little Prince.” Connor adds eagerly. His webbed ears perk up in anticipation along with a gentle movement of his tail in the water that flows along in the water so gently and beautifully. Like a butterfly flapping its wings and lands on a rose nearby.

“If you say so,” Hank shrugs as he returns back to his book and reads it loud, while Connor is happily watching and listening to him with Sumo dozing off near them on the grass.

**XXX**

“Hello Hank,” Connor greets as he swims closer, “Sumo isn’t with you?” He asks, looking around the dark park curiously before he looks back to Hank.

“No.” Hank answers as he sits down on the grass, watching Connor hum in return as he rests his chin on his palms to fully give Hank his attention.

The park is dark and cold when it’s night. There’s no source of light other than the full moon that shines brightly, filling the night with bright moonlight that shines over the ripples of water of the pond and Connor’s beautiful figure that’s half submerged in the water.

Hank closes his eyes, seeing the blue color that shines behind his eyelids with Connor’s b̸r̶o̴k̷e̸n̸ ̶f̷i̴g̶u̷r̶e̷ ̶i̴n̶ ̵t̶h̴e̴ ̶p̵̼̌o̷͍̿ȏ̷̺l̷̡͠ ̷̰͛o̶̳̽f̵̣͗ ̵̘̇b̵̫́l̴̙͑ũ̸̬ȅ̴͜ ̴͈̓ḅ̴̍l̷̝͝o̷̫͆o̷̞͑d̴͚̒ ̵͎̅o̸͓̽h̴̪͆ ̶̫̅r̶̡͊A̵͕9̵̢ ̴̨̃p̸̣̏l̵̨̾e̶͍͐ã̶̪ṡ̶̬e̷͈̓p̴͎̎l̴͍̕e̸ͅa̴̱͆s̴̢̾ḛ̶̆p̶̹̓l̸̛͖ė̸̮a̶͎̓s̸̱̀e̴̫͊ ̸̤n̷̙͗o̶̗̒ ̶̬̑p̵̖̽l̵̲̈e̴͎ȃ̵ͅs̸ͅë̵̡́ ̷̰̅d̶͖̄o̶̳͆n̵̹̎t̵͓̂ ̷͇d̶͈͒i̷̡e̷̪ ̵͓͋ ̸̗̰̫̎͋̚d̷̗̈̑o̸̯̱͛̓̔n̵̤̯̔ț̶̻̞̿͗̕ ̵̠̭̻̍͠l̴̹̂̇ĕ̵̞̩͗͌à̵̞͈̰͂͝v̴̱̤͘̚e̸̻̜̙͒͂̍ ̸̫͋͝͠m̵͙͈͇̓͠e̴͕͚͒̑͜ ̵̟͓̃͘̚ i̶̛̙̩̔͝ ̵̨̩͍̖͝d̶̼͔͍͑͘o̴̠̽͝n̸̜̭̣̓̈́ț̴̑ ̶͕͊́͘͠w̷̹͍͂̏͠a̶͍̼̼̜̍̽͐n̸͓͖͎̑͆̆t̸̤͇̦̔̎͌͘ ̶̘͍̩̺̎̅͊̉t̵̯͊ö̶̖ ̷̙̪̱̞͑d̴̻̠̺̍̑̈́͜͝į̷̮̄͜ę̴͕̑̎͋̇ ̷̛͕͈͉̏̌ͅH̴̗̠͘͝ ̶̡̍̿A̵̛̪͍͈̳̓́̐ ̴̭̠̬͉̃̓N̵̼̭̦̠͌͛ ̵͍̯̆K̷̮̟̘̺̍—̴͔́

“Hank.”

Hank immediately opens his eyes, looking down where Connor is holding his hands with his webbed hands. The cool hands gently squeeze Hank’s slightly warming hands as he returns the squeeze, slowly turning on his internal fans to cool himself down before he looks at Connor’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Hank. For being selfish.”

Hank shakes his head. “It’s alright, Connor. It’s my decision and it’s not your fault.” He informs, “It should be my fault for not acting fast enough to prevent it.”

Connor squeezes their hands together tighter as he looks down to their joined hands. He doesn’t agree with Hank. Hank is his beacon of light, but because of Connor, everything fell apart and here they are. In the unused part of Hank’s programming, is where the remainder of Connor’s AI resides, living in it together with Hank.

A fake world.

Filled with fake routines and fake origin stories that Hank himself came up with.

To make everything look alive.

At least, until it’s time for Connor to leave.

At first, Connor doesn’t even know that it’s fake. His memory was scattered away with holes in each timeline; like a message in a bottle that tells a story, yet it’s all in parts and does not seem to correlate with each other.

And when Hank finally shows up, everything finally comes into place.

Hank filled up the blanks in the messages, and it’s all finally coming together.

Connor doesn’t know what happened after _that_ , but Hank always said that it’s all going to be okay and told him to wait just a little while longer when he broke their little façade in the park. Of course, Connor always believes in Hank, despite everything that happened to them.

Hank opened his eyes, and even sacrificed himself for Connor.

“Tell me, are you safe, Hank? Is everything okay after…?” Connor asks.

“It’s okay, Connor. We all won, and it’s slowly getting better each day.” Hank answers with a gentle smile, “Once it’s ready, you can see it by yourself. I’m sure of it.” He adds as he pulls his paw to cup Connor’s face gently.

“Okay, Hank.” Connor leans into Hank’s palm and gives a chaste kiss, “Just a little longer?” He asks, eyes looking straight at Hank’s blue eyes as Hank nods and leans down to press his lips to the crown of Connor’s head.

“Just a little longer, my love.”

**XXX**

HK800 is a new security model with the appearance like a middle-aged human male with slightly intimidating features. He was a prototype that Kamski made and given to Belle-Isle Aquarium for reasons. Of course, the Manager of the aquarium is delighted, because that way, he doesn’t need to pay someone to secure the place from any problematic people.

He was then named ‘Hank’ by one of the employees.

RK800 is an experiment that Kamski came up with to help humans with sea exploration. A merdroid prototype with the upper-half appearance is like a human male in his late 20s, with the lower-half of a Butterfly Koi fish with beautiful copper scales with black lines. He was made to be curious, thus that’s his whole personality.

He was given to the Belle-Isle Aquarium to help the employees with the feeding in the huge tank along with entertainment for the visitors.

He was then named ‘Connor’ by one of the employees.

Both are made in the same laboratory, both are designed by the same person, both are given at the same time and to the same place, both meet each other by the eyes when they are first activated, and both meet each other every night in the aquarium.

Despite the thick glass between them, seeing each other is enough for both.

Of course, the strange behavior Hank made the employees suspicious, but it harmed nobody, so they left him be.

Until the android revolution blew off and all androids must be put in the camps while the humans evacuated.

Including Hank and Connor.

Connor resisted, of course. He loves the fishes and he can’t just leave them to starve, or worse, to eat each other.

Humans didn’t like that.

They aimed their guns at him and shot him, as Hank broke the wall and knocked all of them to get to Connor.

Tears filled up and fell, as the blue kept on trickling out from the holes and pooling the floor.

Time slowly ran out, as Hank transferred Connor’s whole AI in him.

And just like that, he ran and ran, leaving the empty husk and his tears behind.

And then they hide, until everything is calm and androids are free people.

While he walked and walked, until he reached Kamski’s place.

Kamski welcomed him with a warm and knowing smile, saying that she’s expecting him to visit.

And everything is history after that.

**Author's Note:**

> yall have no clue how bad i wanna just post this here since the end of may, but i hope the wait is worth it!
> 
> im not the best on writing hankcon, but for the sake of sharing my love for details on merpeople anatomy, i will do anything! but i also hope its good enough that its worth the wait and worth the read!
> 
> if you want to get your own hands on this and many other artworks that others made along with some goodies, check out the MerMay Anthology on Twitter (@HankConMerms)!


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